“The surest sign that a community suffers from a deﬁcit of viewpoint diversity is the presence of orthodoxy, most readily apparent when members fear shame, ostracism, or any other form of social retaliation for questioning or challenging a commonly held idea.

In these contexts, it is likely that the dominant idea is not entirely correct because it is protected from challenge and change. If, however, the response to dissent is civil discussion and evidence-based argument, then the community does not suffer from
orthodoxy.

The question, then, is whether colleges and universities welcome and celebrate viewpoint diversity. While some individual institutions do (see our Guide to Colleges), many American universities are typiﬁed by an ideological monoculture.

Do you think students are “walking on eggshells” in the classroom and on-campus? Administer our Campus Expression Survey to find out.”